PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Kaiser Permanente Northern California were the only health plans to earn four stars in the category Meeting National Standards of Care in the just-released HMO Quality Report from the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA). This marks the third straight year that the two Kaiser Permanente plans have led the way in clinical quality.
Kaiser Permanente Southern California received the highest ratings in 19 of 37 clinical measures detailed in the report—especially in the area of preventive medicine. Here are a few examples: 96 percent of Kaiser Permanente patients with asthma in Southern California receive medicine to control their asthma, helping them to live normal lives and avoid visits to hospital emergency rooms; 93 percent of patients with diabetes had their blood sugar under control, helping them to avoid complications of diabetes; 98 percent of patients with diabetes had their kidney function tested, helping to identify and treat potential problems early; and 96 percent of children aged 3-17 had their body mass index calculated, helping to identify potential obesity problems and intervene with lifestyle and diet changes to prevent childhood obesity.
“Prevention is the key to health care in America today,” said Jeffrey Weisz, MD, executive medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, the physicians who care for Kaiser Permanente patients in Southern California. “Prevention means improving the quality of people’s lives, sparing them from needless suffering and helping them to remain well,” he added.
“This report shows what can happen when we combine a dedicated healthcare team with 21st century technology, including our industry leading electronic medical record system, KP HealthConnect, in a daily effort to improve the health of our patients,” said Benjamin Chu, MD, president of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region. “The results represent the efforts of all our team members, from the receptionist, to the nurse, to the laboratory technician, to the physician and all the other caregivers involved,” he added.
Physicians from the Southern California Permanente Medical Group earned the most stars in each of the ten geographic areas covered by the report.
ABOUT KAISER PERMANENTE
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 3.3 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
CONTACT:
Kaiser Permanente
Southern California Region
Jim Anderson
Office: 626-405-5157
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Hospitals Children Parenting Diabetes Consumer Family Managed Care
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